Twitter has discovered about 200 suspicious Russian accounts and a Russian media group that bought advertisements targeted at US audiences...
Twitter has discovered about 200 suspicious Russian accounts and a Russian media group that bought advertisements targeted at US audiences, the company disclosed after giving evidence to congressional committees.
The messaging platform team came under stinging criticism from Senator Mark Warner, the Democratic vice-chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, for not understanding the seriousness of the matter nor being prepared to answer the committee questions.
Mr. Warner called the Twitter response “deeply disappointing” and “frankly inadequate on almost every level”, complaining that its work was based on Facebook’s earlier statements.
Facebook earlier this month announced it had uncovered Russian groups spending $100,000 on ads on political issues before the US presidential election.
Twitter said that out of the 450 accounts that Facebook had shared as part of its review, some 22 also had accounts on Twitter. Twitter also found another 179 related or linked accounts and has taken action on those that violated its rules.
The messaging platform said three accounts from Russia Today promoted 1,823 tweets that were “definitely or potentially” aimed at the US market. The media organization with strong links to the Russian government spent $274,100 on US ads in 2016, mainly promoting news stories and targeting them at followers of mainstream media accounts.
“I am more than a bit surprised in light of all the public interest in this subject over the past few weeks that anyone from the Twitter team would think the presentation they made to the Senate staff today even began to answer the kind of questions that we asked,” Mr. Warner said. “So there is a lot more work they have to do.”
Twitter sent Colin Crowell, vice-president for public policy, to meet staff from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Thursday. It did not respond to a request for comment on Mr. Warner’s criticism.
In a blog post, the company said it supported making political advertising more transparent to its users and the public and would examine its review mechanisms for campaign ads.
“We welcome the opportunity to work with the Federal Election Commission and leaders in Congress to review and strengthen guidelines for political advertising on social media,” it said.
Facebook last week laid out its plans to make political advertising more transparent. In future, advertisers are required to disclose which Facebook page paid for an ad, and users can visit an advertiser page to see all the ads running there, in an effort to stop advertisers picking and choosing the audience for the display of opposing messages.
However, the social media groups are facing calls for comprehensive regulation from some senators. Two Democratic senators on Friday circulated a letter to members of Congress calling for legislation to “formalize and expand” on Facebook’s voluntary commitments.
Twitter said it had taken action on accounts that had violated its rules. It plans several changes to how it detects suspicious activity, which it will roll out in the coming weeks and months. The measures will include introducing new ways to detect suspicious logins, and shortening the amount of time suspicious accounts remain visible on Twitter.
“These are not meant to be definitive solutions. We’ve been fighting against these issues for years, and as long as there are people trying to manipulate Twitter, we will be working hard to stop them,” the company said.
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